Long Live the Queen
by DJsapien
Summary: Before Nala found Simba in the jungle outside of the Serengeti, Scar had proposed to her that she be his queen. Will her reunion with Simba change her mind? I do not own Lion King, Disney, or any of their subsidiaries.
1. Disturbing News

Chapter One: Disturbing News

Across the barren, desolate Serengeti, Pride Rock stood, changed by the new monarch that usurped the sacred position of king. Malnourished hyenas and lions crawled along the jagged remains of a once pure precipice and rock staircase. Scar, the new king of the Pride Lands overlooked his kingdom. Where water was once bountiful and plants were lush, cracked earth and brittle twigs now occupied. The drought cracks and twigs sprawled the land like millions of limbed insects.

Scar would have normally smiled when he thought of imagery such as this, but he did not even so much as curl his lips.

"What a kingdom!" tweeted a voice sarcastically, "_That _is definitely worth passing on."

Scar tilted his head below him to see a blue African hornbill glaring at him.

"Zazu," muttered Scar, "Didn't your mother ever tell you that muttering insults under a lion's mouth isn't intelligent in the least bit? And besides, if you don't like the way I run things, than you can leave."

The bird flew onto Scar's head.

"Don't you think that if it were that easy, than I would have left you years ago? It's not that simple….you see Scar, it is tradition that my family produce an offspring to accompany the king and his son. And then when I die…my offspring will watch the next king and his son…and so on… and so on."

"Wait," snapped Scar. His green and yellow eyes widened at the concept.

"Of course…an heir……Of course." Scar shook his head until Zazu fell off.

"The glorious, late Mufasa," prayed Zazu as he pointed his bill into the grey sky, "Please forgive me for any vile idea Scar had interpreted from my big, blabbering beak! Forgive me, please!"

In the main chamber below the cliff, the rest of the pride's lions prepared for the night's sleep. The opening of the cave was where the hunting lionesses slept so as to watch over the others.

Nala laid down without speaking to the other lionesses in her hunting group. The drought and scarcity of prey had a somber effect on the pride. The lionesses were particularly perturbed by the scarcity since the hunters were always the ones blamed by the other lions for not having found any sufficient food. Nala closed her eyes as she tried to sleep. She felt lonely ever since Simba had died those many years ago. Ever since he had left her, she had made few friends. Simba's mother, Sarabi, was pleasant company, but she was a bitter reminder of her lost friend. Nala thought she had smelt a faint odor of rotting meat, but decided that she did not care enough to open her eyes. Nala was close to sleeping until she felt a heavy breathing on her muzzle. She opened her eyes to find a drooling hyena breathing down on her face.

"What do you want!" snapped Nala. Even after Scar's promise of lions and hyenas living in peace under his rule, the beasts frequently fought.

"Lord Scar wants to converse with you," dribbled the hyena messenger. Drool pooled under his paws and onto Nala's face. "Eww, blah!" she spat, "Well are you just going to keep slobbering or are you going to tell me what for?"

The hyena shook its head vivaciously, sending saliva flying in the air. "He does not say, but I thinks it be for something about your status as second in command of the hunting party."

"_Creeper- _hyena_"_, Nala muttered under her breath as she sauntered out of the cave.

****

Scar laid on the stone floor of the Pride Rock top cave. His eyes flickered when he saw Nala enter.

"You asked for me?"

"Hello Nala," Scar purred, "When was the last time I saw you?"

Nala averted her eyes uncomfortably, "Two years ago, I suppose."

Scar's tail flickered in a beckoning gesture. "Sit next to me," he ordered, "I need to talk to you about something. It's very important to the pride's future."

Nala hesitated. She was suspicious of Scar's sudden interest in her.

"Come now, Nala. You can trust me."

Nala obeyed and lay next to him on the stone floor. She was uncomfortable to be this close to him, but strangely…..she felt less lonely than a short moment ago.

"Now Nala," he whispered, "I know that you are part of the Pride's hunting party. Tell me, how are you dealing with the rest of the Pride?"

Nala stared at him intently, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you lonely? You used to be close friends with Simba when you were cubs…until he…er…his _soul_ left us. And now the whole pride seems to be bickering with each other over food. How are you faring?"

"I guess I am pretty lonely. Everyone has been pretty depressed since a lot of the herd-beasts left us …."

Her voice trailed off when she noticed Scar moving closer to her. He then laid his head onto the top of her's and began to lick the fur thoroughly.

"What are you doing?!" Nala panicked.

Scar resumed licking her head and back when he explained.

"I'm grooming you. You haven't been taking care of yourself lately….there is a lot of dirt and burs in there. Times have been hard, but someone should still be taking care of you, if not yourself."

Nala winced as she felt him remove a bur. It was strange to feel him perform something that could be mistaken for affection. She had not been groomed by another lion since she was a cub under her mother's care. After he had picked the burs out of her back legs, he nudged her onto her side, exposing her underbelly to him. There he continued combing dirt with his teeth and rough tongue.

Nala was shocked. Should she stop him? Would that be viewed as too insulting to a king? She could not help but wonder what possessed her to allow him to continue. Was she really that lonely?

"All done," Scar chirruped.

Before he could do anything else, Nala hissed, "is this what you wanted me here for? To groom me? I think there was something else on your mind."

Scar's smile faded once he saw that the calming effect of the grooming did not last. His eyes dropped as his face revealed a more sober expression.

"I need a queen, Nala," he said bluntly, "I have chosen you to be my queen, and I hoped that you would accept my invitation. The pride needs an heir, and I cannot have an heir unless I have a bride."

Nala's mouth hung agape. She could not believe it. The news was slightly disturbing.

"What about Simba's mother…..Sarabi? She was Mufasa's queen. Is she not yours now that he is gone?"

Scar laughed at the suggestion. "Oh no Nala, I could never take my dear brother's wife, even if he is dead. I wanted someone else and I chose you. You want a companion, don't you? So do I. We are compatible for each other."

Nala was unsure of what to say. She couldn't. She shouldn't. It…wouldn't look right in the least.

"Meet me tomorrow night at the barren watering hole. I want to show you something before you make up your mind." Scar stood on his legs and walked over to a darkened corner of the room. Only his feral eyes would show in the blackness.

"You may go now, Nala. Rest, and we will meet again soon."

Nala stood and walked out of the cave entrance. He had released her. She thought she saw the flicker of another lion's tail whip around the corner, but shook her head in disbelief. It had already been a strange night and she needed to sleep.


	2. Handicap

Chapter Two: Handicap

It was the same time the next night that Nala left the other lionesses to walk to the entrance of the cave. She was walking down the stairs of Pride Rock when she heard a lioness behind her.

Nala turned her head to see Simba's mother trailing behind her.

"Nala, where are you going at this hour? It is very late.

"Scar told me to meet him somewhere. He wants to talk to me."

Sarabi frowned upon hearing the news. "Just as he called for you last night too?"

Nala barked at her, "Were you following me? Why is this any of your business?"

"Nala, I know you have been lonely…the drought has been hard on everyone. But you can't succumb to some of the….the feelings your having."

Nala was horrified at what she was suggesting, "You don't know what you are talking about! Do you think that I would be that stupid! We are just talking…..nothing is going to come of it. Why? Did you listen to our conversation last night too?"

Simba's mother frowned when she saw the young lioness turn on her only true friend.

"I saw you two. I spied on you because I care. I shouldn't have done it but I can tell you that he is preying on your pain. You aren't stupid, you're just confused. Don't let him manipulate you. Rember that he may be the king now, but he wasn't always. When he and Mufasa was younger, he wasn't chosen to be king for a reason….remember that."

Nala turned and left Pride Rock.

She came to a depression in the earth that used to be a watering hole. She saw Scar appear from behind a dying tree.

"Hello, Nala. Good to see you again."

She sneered, "Whatever. What do you have planned for me now, another bath?"

"Is that anyway to talk to your King?" there was no trace of lightheartedness in his tone. The smile disappeared on his face.

"I….I'm sorry. What did you want from me?"

"Get in the grass now," he ordered, "hurry."

Nala leapt into the yellow field. Pieces of brittle vegetation blew into the air when Scar accompanied her.

"What are we waiting for?"

"Shh."

Thirty feet in front of them, a Thompson's gazelle leapt into the clearing. It circled the deserted watering hole as if expecting water to sprout from the spot. Nala's mouth gaped and started to water when she realized that what she saw in front of her was not a mirage, but an actual source of food.

"What is a gazelle doing here? And at this time?" gasped Nala

"Look," whispered Scar.

After looking closely, Nala saw that one of the gazelle's back legs was deformed, causing it to have a faulty leap. It amazed Nala that it survived past infancy with such a handicap.

'It's lame," whispered Nala, "But how did you know that it would be here."

"It always comes to this watering hole," stated Scar, "Every three to five hours for the past day, it has been coming to this exact spot to look for water."

Nala was perplexed, "But why would it search for water in the same place during a drought? Is it insane?"

"Probably," acknowledged Scar. His trademark grin faded, "It has been abandoned by its herd because of the liability it's leg poses to the herd's safety. And now it has become mad from being so lonely. They need the company of others to be health….just like us lions," he smiled.

"Were you ever alone?" asked Nala. She thought that it was an innocent question, but reconsidered when she saw Scar's face droop.

"Why would you ask that?" he questioned, "because I seem so loopy? I was alone for a while, but I would rather not talk about it."

"Why did you want me here?" she asked tiredly.

Scar smiled again, "I'm giving you a choice. You can go and catch that gazelle and bring it back for the pride. It's not nearly enough for a full meal, but they will appreciate that more than nothing. If you decide to catch it and bring it to the pride, than you have to be my queen. Those are the rules. You don't have to be my queen, but that would result in me just killing the gazelle and keeping it for myself; none for the others.

"You're a bastard," spat Nala.

"I know." He smiled

Nala stared at the prize that lay in front of her. The rest of the pride may not be at the point of starvation now, but any month now they will be. Who knows when she would ever see another prey such as this again?"

"I…can't" she whispered, "I can't do that."

"But what about the pride?" Scar's inquiry dripped with mock concern, "What would they think if they knew that their own lioness turned down feeding her tribe just so she would not have to marry an eligible suitor such as myself. But wait…I flatter myself. Back to the fact that you would not give them such an easy meal. A small meal….albeit….a meal nonetheless in this unpredictable environment."

Nala was considering the ultimatum. If she caught the gazelle, then the other lions would stop accusing the lionesses of taking food for themselves because of Nala's willingness to share such a meager kill instead of keeping it for herself. And of course…she would not have to be alone anymore.

"Fine," she growled, "I accept."

Scar curled his chops into the most obscene smile that Nala had ever seen from him.

"Now then my queen….go fetch the bounty!"

****

Nala dragged the gazelle's lifeless body to the pride. She roared to wake the other lions and lionesses up.

"Nala," a lioness cried, "a kill at this time? How did you do it?"

Nala shrugged and tried to be aloof, "It was lame. Simple enough for a yearling to catch."

While the lions took turns devouring the carcass, Nala sat by herself with her own lump of meat.

"You say it was easy to catch, Nala. But what was the price for its convenience?"

Nala lifted her head to see Sarabi's face looking down on her. "What did Scar want you to do in exchange for it?" she clarified.

Nala resumed eating, "I agreed to be his mate, Sarabi. If you hate me, then that's fine."

Sarabi shook her head, "I don't hate you, Nala. I never could. You remind me too much of my dear….my d-dear Simba. I'm just disappointed that you would choose this."

Nala sneered, "I did this for the Pride. It was either I agreed to be his queen, or he would take the gazelle for himself and I would have to explain to the Pride why he reeks of blood and why I am empty-handed. You and I both know that they would blame a hunting lioness before they would blame a King. The Pride wouldn't have cared that he had proposed that deal to me….they would have wanted me to do what was best for the Pride, and I did. I did what was best for them. I gave the Pride another day to live and a queen to produce an heir!"

"You are right Nala," Sarabi sighed, "But sometimes it is good to think of yourself before others. That is of course…if what you did really was for the Pride."

Without another word, Sarabi turned to leave Nala to her meat. When she was done, Scar approached her.

"Come with me, Nala. As my soon-to-be queen, I request your company."

Nala sighed and followed him.

When they arrived at Scar's chambers, he motioned her to sit with him; just as the night before. Scar stared at her, his green feral eyes overpowering her blue ones. Before long, she turned her head to avoid his eye contact.

"Be truthful," Scar pleaded, "Do you despise me?"

On impulse, Nala was about to answer with a resolute 'Yes!' but thought about it further. Maybe 'despise' was not the word.

"Well…no. I don't despise you Scar. I—I'm just not comfortable around you. I don't really know what you are capable of."

" 'Uncomfortable?' " he repeated, "Of course I've noticed that you are uncomfortable around me…sometimes. Other times, you seem at ease. Like last night, for instance. You were uncomfortable at first with me bathing you, but then you seemed to care less and less."

The lioness remained silent. Had she really not cared last night? He had stopped grooming her too soon for her to tell if she was becoming accustomed to it.

"You have to understand how strange it was," she explained, "I didn't know what you were doing. I didn't trust you. But then when I was just starting to trust you, you dismissed me."

Scar remained silent and averted his eyes to his large paws. He did not want to seem too intimidating by staring at her any longer.

"Groom me again," Nala pleaded.

Scar's ears perked at the request, "What?"

"I…want to trust you," stammered Nala, "I want a do-over so I can learn to trust you. I am your future queen, aren't I? I need to trust you. Besides, my fur is still kind of dirty...and it has burs from those grasses we were hiding in…."

A smile crept across Scar's face. He moved closer and started to gently lick her head. Nala tried to relax as she dropped her head between her paws. He continued to clean her ears and paws with his rough tongue. While he continued to clean her, Sarabi's voice was roaring in Nala's brain.

_Don't do this Nala. Do not succumb to these feelings. You are lonely and he is just taking advantage of that right now!_

_I don't care._

_He does not care about you!_

_Not true._

_At first, Nala, I believed you when you said that you were doing this for the sake of the Pride. But now I know better. Now I know the real reason why you are doing this._

_At least I will never be alone again._

Nala looked up from the floor smiling. The inner voice had been silenced. She had won the argument. Scar stopped picking the burs from her underbelly when he noticed her smile.

"What is it?" he asked innocently.

"I won," sighed Nala, "I won." She laid back on her side and let a puzzled Scar resume bathing her.

"And Scar," started Nala.

"Yes, my queen?"

"I trust you now." Nala laughed as she said this. The voices were gone. No longer did she have to reassure with herself that what she was doing was appropriate. Now, the only thing she should be concerned with is that she was having enough enjoyment in her life. She was tired of feeling depressed.

"Excellent," he purred .

****

Nala awoke the next morning to Scar licking her muzzle.

"Tired?" he whispered. He continued licking her until she stood up. "You slept in kind of late. I woke up hours ago but I was in a good mood and let you sleep."

Nala yawned. "Aren't you tired too?"

"I should be since I'm not getting any younger," he responded, "But you…rejuvenated me." He laughed at his small joke.

Nala walked outside of the cave entrance to the overlook of Pride Rock. The land looked just as barren as it did the many weeks before.

"Good morning Nala," greeted a lioness' voice.

Nala looked over her shoulder to see Sarabi standing behind her. She ignored Sarabi's greeting.

"Are you okay, Nala?" asked the concerned Sarabi, "is he harming you?"

"I'm fine, Sarabi," Nala suddenly remembered the lionesses' voice who kept calling to her when she was with Scar that night. She wished that Sarabi did not care so much about her.

"And he's not hurting me," reassured Nala, "He is actually pretty well-behaved."

"You mean he is pretending to be," finished Sarabi.

Nala growled at the statement, "You know, why do I even talk to you anyway? You don't even know what you're talking about!"

Sarabi bared her teeth, but was very much hurt by the young lioness' statement.

"I think I know very much what I'm talking about, Nala. So what if you are a little bit bigger, and older than you were when you were little cubs with Simba? Do you really think that being a little older and having a mate makes you an adult? Well it doesn't. It doesn't because you will always be a cub when it comes to things that you don't know about other people's lives. I have known Scar and Mufasa long before you were even conceived, and believe me when I say that Scar can be cruel. He is crueler than you will ever know. He was exiled for things that I am forbidden of speaking of to you because they are so vile! Keep that in mind whenever you are foolish enough to believe another one of his pretenses!"

Sarabi raced down the rock stairs of Pride Rock past a group of snickering hyenas. Nala swallowed a lump in her throat as she tried to shake off the feeling of remorse.

"Don't feel bad," Scar's voice dripped , "She's just bitter because she lost her son and her King in the same day. That's all."

"Why were you exiled, Scar?" Nala asked this without even looking behind her to face Scar's venomous grin.

"It…I told you….it was a troubling time for me and I would rather not talk about it."

"But I trusted you," she pleaded, "I trusted you last night. I gave you my complete trust and you can't even tell me this one thing? I would tell you anything you wanted to know, but you still won't tell me?"

"Nala," Scar hissed, "I promise you that…."

"Don't promise me anything else," she growled.

"You are too young to understand why…" he grumbled,

"Yes,but I'm not too young to be your queen, am I?" the lioness quipped.

Nala raced down the Pride Rock to join the other lions and lionesses in the main chamber below. This time, the hyenas did not laugh for fear of being struck by the fuming king.


	3. Hakuna Matata

Chapter 3: Hakuna Matata

Nala sat in the corner of the main chamber. She had been crying for a long time. The other lionesses noticed her and talked amongst themselves. Nala pretended not to hear them.

"Is that Nala? Why hasn't she been on any hunts with us?"

"Haven't you heard? She's Scar's queen! Sarabi said so herself."

"I sure hope she is alright."

"Of course she isn't alright! She's crying!"

"Ladies, let's not get off the subject. We still need to solve our issue. The only place where there is any hope for food is the nearest jungle. The one with the scent of that strange fruit."

"We can't do 're Plains animals! It's unnatural."

"Right now it's our only hope for food. We can't send a whole party there because we need them here for in case any herds pass through. We need only one lioness. We don't want too many lionesses to be gone because it takes days to walk there."

"I'll do it." Spoke up Nala, "I'll investigate the jungle."

"Um, fine," said the puzzled lioness, "The position is all yours."

_Good,_ thought Nala, _I need some time to think anyway._

As Nala left the cave, the lioness called to give her one last piece of advice. "There is a rumor of a loner lion living in the jungle, Nala….er.. Queen Nala. Be careful!"

Scar noticed Nala walking into his chambers.

"Listen, Nala, I'm sorry about earlier. Please just accompany me again tonight. I want us to talk."

Nala was not hearing any of it. "I'm leaving today. I'm investigating the jungle for food."

Scar's remorseful disposition faded. A snarl took its place.

"And what if I say 'no', my dear queen?"

"Then you won't be eating any food until the next year's rainy season." retorted Nala contemptuously, "I need some time to think, and we need food.

"Fine," he griped, "But please, my dear Nala. Please return to me soon."

"I'll see what I can do," spat Nala as she left the cave.


	4. Quel Amour

Here are some questions readers might want ask:

Q: Why is the title in French?

A: I was too lazy to translate things into Swahili (although that would have been kind of cool). I stuck with a language to be an alternative to English, and what I knew best, which was French. Plus, many African countries accept French as a national and/or widely accepted language.

Q: What does _"quel amour"_ mean?

A: It can be translated as _"which love?"_ or _"what love?"_

Q: WTF does the dream have to do with anything?

A: Take some time to analyze it if you need to. It is pretty straightforward and it might even tell the story in a different way…..(an example of when language arts and psychology classes might come in handy)……..

Chapter: 4 Quel Amour?

Nala laid under a sickly-looking tree. Daylight was disappearing and it was almost time for her to awaken. With shade being scarce because of the drought killing the vegetation, the daytime became her resting time whenever she came across shelter. She would sleep in the unbearable heat and travel in the cool nighttime. Her muzzle twitched as she tried to rid herself of the intruding memory of the night before in Scar's chambers.

_Nala giggled as she buried her face in Scar's mane. She picked burs and tangles out of his dark hair. Her bath was complete and she was starting on his. _

_"Scar," she sighed._

_"Yes, Nala? Something wrong?"_

_Scar's eyes closed as he felt her inhaling his scent._

_"Oh, nothing…I was just wondering how you would look like from a different perspective…."_

_Nala swiftly shoved Scar on to his side and pinned him down._

_"See?" she smiled, "Much better."_

_Scar chuckled as he saw her blue eyes light up._

_"You like this, don't you Nala?" he ventured, "being dominant?"_

_Nala held him down with more force. "It feels nice from time to time….to be in charge."_

_"Well," he paused mirthfully, "You should know now that it won't fly with me."_

_Scar shifted his weight and pinned Nala with more force than she had exerted on him. It took her by surprise that he did not allow the playing to last longer._

_"As long as I'm with you, Nala," he responded with a grin, "I will always be the dominant one…….even if we are just playing together." _

_Nala's smile faded once he had said this. He may have been grinning, but he was not joking in the least bit. Nala attributed this mentality to his lust for power. Of course a truly proud king would never let his queen have the upper hand, ever. This realization suddenly made her slightly uncomfortable being his mate. Scar's hunger for power seemed to be insatiable and it was something that she would have to put up with._

_The king's eyes ventured over Nala's restricted form. A plan seemed to be formulating in his eyes._

_"What is it?" asked Nala out of concern. And then she thought, what more does he want?_

_"Nothing," he quickly dismissed the notion, "It's too soon to ask…."_

_"It's about an heir, isn't it? You want cubs soon?"_

_Scar's eyes widened. He nodded with vigor. _

_"I don't know, Scar."_

_"It's just….I'm getting old, Nala. You and I both know that. It is important that we start soon."_

_Scar loosened his grip on her as if he was about to let her go. His expression became grave and marred with disappointment._

_"Wait, Scar," stammered Nala,"I…comply."_

_"No," he answered, "don't do it only because you feel obligated on my account."_

_"I don't," she smiled, "I want to…really. I'm your mate and I want to share my cubs with you. I don't know why I want to….but I'm willing to try…" _

_A grin crept back onto Scar's incorrigible visage. _

_"Thank you, Nala. It means…. so much to me."_

Nala opened her eyes to feel salty drops trickling down her muzzle. Why was she crying? Because she gave him her complete trust just to have him withhold secrets from her? She could only blame herself for thinking that anything more could come out of their liason. It was a more physical than emotional relationship because they rarely talked sincerely about their problems…they would only touch.

Nala rubbed the tears out of her eyes with her paw. The more she organized her thoughts, the less she seemed to cry. Did she regret that night with him? No…it was experimentation. To experience what love was like….or rather….to experience what infatuation was like. Whatever. She was his mate now, and if that meant that their relationship was not serious, then so be it. She had made her decision for the Pride.

_Sometimes it is good to think of yourself before others. That is of course…if what you did really was for the Pride._

Nala groaned as Sarabi's phrase sounded in her ears as clearly as the day they were announced. Great, now she is going to have to ask herself the question. Was the decision really for the Pride? Or was it for her own selfish reasons?

Nala chose not to answer and left her place of refuge.

After traveling for two more days in the desert, Nala came across the outskirts of a lush jungle. Sprawling ferns and palms beckoned her into the rather large oasis. Nala lifted her head and inhaled the scent of fertile earth and foreign fruit. She had finally arrived. But wait….something else filled her nostrils…the scent of…..witchety grubs? No, but whatever it was, it fed on grubs and other insects of the sort.

Nala hid behind a hollow log and witnessed a warthog exit the jungle and drink from a small watering hole. Her mouth watered as she observed the walking meal gorge itself with water. She had been feeding on small reptiles and mice during the journey. Swine would surely satisfy her lingering hunger. And it was not as if she could bring it back with her to the Pride; hyenas and vultures would harass her for the carcass. She took another step towards the feral pig. Between sloshing and gulping, the warthog could not hear the young lioness take one more step, and another towards him. She was now close enough to trot without being detected. Her swiftness was not enough, for once she started trotting, the warthog heard her approach.

"Ahhhhhh!" it screamed. The pig retreated to the jungle for shelter. Nala almost felt ashamed of chasing the warthog because of its cowardly shriek. She followed it into the bush but lost it once it dived through a cluster of ferns. Once she poked her head through the ferns, she sighed with relief. There it was, the warthog, caught under a tangled root with its rump in the air. Nala would have laughed at the scene if she were not so hungry. Behind the warthog was a lean meerkat attempting tohelp the warthog out from the root by trying to shove him in the bottom.

"What do you mean 'there's a lion_ess_'? The only one here is….aaaaahhhh!"

Now the meerkat had finally noticed her behind him. Before Nala could pounce on the conjoined prey, a male lion appeared from the bushes. His coat was a golden brown and his head was adorned with a crimson mane. Nala was astonished: curiously enough, the lion strongly resembled Mufasa. The lion pounced on Nala with full force only to have her roll over and pin him to the earth.

_I know that maneuver._ The lion realized.

"Nala?" asked the confused lion. His muzzle wrinkled as he recognized her scent.

"Simba?" , she could not believe it. Could it really be her childhood friend, alive and well?

The meerkat could not believe what he saw. His pal, Simba, was "hoorahing" and prancing around with some strange lioness as if they were good friends or something. A moment ago, the two lions would have been mistaken for sworn enemies. Now they were talking so fast to each other that it seemed as if they were speaking in another language.

"Whoa, whoa, Simba," the scrawny meerkat squealed as he flailed his arms in the beast's face to catch his attention, "Time out! Who the hell is this person?"

"This is Nala," introduced Simba briskly, "I have known her since like, we were cubs! And Nala,this is Timon and Pumbaa. They're my friends."

Nala gawked at Simba in amazement, "But….Scar said you were dead?"

"He did?"

The bewildered meerkat sighed and sniveled when the two lions walked with each other into the flourishing jungle. Their conversation became more animated as they found more things to talk about.

"Why are you cryin' Timon? This is great! Simba finally met another lion from his Pride."

"No," Timon shouted, "This is bad. He was our little guy…and now, all he will care about is _her._ She just came in here….tryin' to kill ya….and all she needed was one look and….. that stupid…. wrestling thing. That's all she needed to take him away from us."

"What do you mean, Timon? We'll see him….tonight…maybe…maybe tomorrow….or the next day. Hmm….I see. I guess he's not our little guy anymore….he needs other friends."

"Whatever." Pouted Timon,"whatever."

****

Simba sighed as he gazed at Nala's sleeping form. There seemed to be something Nala wanted to talk to him about. The night before, she kept looking at him as if she wanted to bring it up. Even now, while she slept, her face was contorted and her face was lined with worry. She was replaying what had happened last night when she realized that Scar had lied about Simba's death. In the end, she attributed his megalomania to him being exiled those many years ago. After all, it wasn't as if Scar had actually killed Simba or Mufasa, right? He just saw an opportunity with Mufasa's accidental death and took it. So what if this explanation is true? Why did she care about his name being clean? She wasn't still infatuated with him anymore, right? She was not completely sure.

"Nala," he nudged her gently on her head, "Wake up."

Nala stirred and awoke to Simba's hazel eyes. She smiled, already anticipating what he was about to ask.

"You wanted to know about the Pride, didn't you? You wanted to know about what's been happening?"

Simba's gentle smile shrunk, but was still visible.

"Umm, no. But how is my mother doing? She must really be missing me."

Nala frowned, "Well, she's fine…I guess." She quickly remembered her status as Queen of the Pride and contemplated revealing the secret of her mate to him. But Simba being alive changed things. He might understand why she accepted Scar as her mate, he might not. And besides, the former circumstances of her union with Scar raised the question of whether she should remain with the usurper now that the true heir is still living. Even if Simba returned, was she still obligated to be Scar's mate? Did she still want to be Scar's mate? She had to know what Simba's action would be towards the Pride so that she could predict what might happen.

"Umm….don't you want to ask about how the Pride is doing…you know….the thing you were supposed to be king of?"

Simba shook his head, "Not really. It has a ruler, right?"

"Well, yeah," she replied shocked, "Scar is the King, now. But he's terrible. Scar knows nothing about the Circle of Life. He overhunted the herd-beasts, so now they're all gone. There is a drought and he was too slow to search for any water…"

Nala took a few breaths to calm down. Her anger with Scar for betraying her was what was fueling the list of complaints more than the actual impact of the problems that resulted from his rule.

"And what do you want me to do about that?" Simba shrugged. He then laughed as he looked her dead in the eye, "Besides. I'm 'dead', remember?"

Nala scoffed at her friend's apparent detachment. "You are unbelievable! This is your responsibility and you don't seem to care at all."

Simba's face hardened, "Well it's not my responsibility anymore, now is it? Apparently Scar wanted to be King, otherwise he wouldn't have told you guys that I was dead. It's all gonna work out in the end."

"Were you hearing anything that I was saying just now? It's a disaster!"

"Hakuna Matata," muttered Simba.

"What???"

"No worries. The past is the past and the future has been thought up already. No need in panicking about the inevitable."

"Predetermination? Really?" laughed Nala "You know Simba, this is really sad. The old Simba I remember, you know, the child? He may have been cocky, but at least he would have the guts to do something about it. He would have actually taken some responsibility. But now, you're acting like a spoiled cub. Maybe you are one."

"Oh, boohoo, Nala. Well I'm sorry I'm not at your level of maturity."

"Oh believe me," she laughed in his face, "You aren't. You want to know the real reason why I wouldn't mate with you last night? I knew it would be your first and I didn't want to have to put up with an immature brat."

"What?!"

"It's true. My mate is more of an adult than you could ever be. And he is with the Pride trying like the rest of us to do something about our problems instead of forgetting about them _because we don't have that luxury_." Nala felt vindicated with her statement. She realized that Scar may have been far from perfect, but he was willing to stay with her as a King and a husband.

Simba's hurt surfaced in his frustrated gaze . Her usual brilliant aqua eyes that he remembered from her as a cub were now iced over. His stomach sank as he realized that her enigmatic mate was the one who chilled the water in her gaze.

"You told me that you loved me last night, Nala. Do you regret saying that?"

Nala bit her lip. Confusion,confusion,confusion.

"I don't regret saying it, Simba….I love you, but I'm not sure if it is the kind of love that you are hoping for. But I have a lot of things to think about. Maybe one day it can be the kind of love that you want. But for now, it isn't."

And with that, Nala stood up from where Simba lay and walked towards a clearing. She found a leafy bed under a vibrant tree and fell asleep. The scent of that strange fruit wafted into her nostrils.

She dreamt that the drought was over and that herds of gazelles and wildebeests flooded the Pridelands. Despite the abundance of food,at the urging of Scar, she caught a lame juvenile Thompson gazelle. Scar had convinced her to not feel sorry for the gazelle: it would not have lived past childhood with the defect.

As Nala ate, she wondered why the gazelle tasted so strange. She inspected the meat. The gazelle's meat was the flesh of the aromatic fruit that tickled and flooded her senses. Nala stopped inspecting the meat to find Scar laughing maniacally. What was it?

She tried to focus onto the prey that lay in her arms. There was something wrong with it….it's form changed. It was not a gazelle anymore. Nala reeled as she realized what she was now eating. It was Simba and his gaze pierced her soul while his mouth repeated the same words over. Once Nala awoke, she forgot what the words were. Something like 'spawn' or 'punishment'?

Thoroughly disturbed, she tried to fall asleep. The effort was futile as she felt the hands of a primate wave in her face. It was morning and a baboon opened its toothy, yellow mouth.


	5. The Chronicles of Taka

Okay, so I received a lot of interesting theories about the dream from the end of the last chapter. Some interpretations were pretty close to what was envisioned. Since I wrote the dream to have many layers, many interpretations can fit. With that in mind, here is what I was thinking; if your interpretation makes since but it is not on here, than that does not necessarily mean it is completely incorrect. Here is the analysis, try to bear with me now…

In the dream, when Scar was urging Nala to kill the lame gazelle despite the other food available, it represented Nala's deep feelings that her acceptance of Scar's ultimatum may have been unnecessary. Perhaps she was using the Pride's supposed disappointment in the lionesses as an excuse to agree to be Scar's mate……Of course, Nala is well aware of the fact that Scar is trying to manipulate her.

The gazelle/Simba amalgam is a juvenile, depicting Simba's immaturity (Scar's dialogue in the dream:"don't feel sorry for it, Nala, it would not make it to maturity anyway"). In other words, Nala is imagining Scar trying to persuade her to not feel guilty about rejecting Simba, the cub that she and the rest of the pride were supposed to give up hope on anyway….(it is interchangeable with Nala being persuaded by Scar to give up hope on the lame gazelle in the dream).

When the gazelle/Simba's flesh tasted like the fruit, it was a biblical reference. Remember when Simba noticed that "her enigmatic mate chilled the water in her eyes"? I was kind of referring to Nala's loss of innocence….Nala can't read Simba's mind, of course, but she is fully aware that innocence was what separated her the most from Simba at that point….the jungle could be seen as the garden of Eden….Scar is the snake because in the dream, he tempted her to eat the gazelle/Simba/ fruit….(some of you are probably thinking "Wow. DJ _can't_ be serious…").

As for "spawn" and "punishment"? Well, be patient. It will reveal itself in the story.

_Note: a griot is the residential storyteller of a tribe. _

_Note: Scar's history is not told exactly according the canon of the Lion King promotional storybooks. I think that's a good thing._

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Chapter 5: The Chronicles of Taka

Nala growled at the simian face. What baboon in its right mind would attempt to wake a sleeping lioness?

The baboon removed its hand and howled in excitement. It crawled on all fours and ran around in circles while kicking up dirt.

"Ahaha!" it shrieked, "The queen has awakened!"

Nala perked her ears and checked both sides of the clearing to make sure that no one else could hear.

"How did you know that?" she whispered, "Who are you?"

The baboon closed its eyes and chuckled.

"My name is Rafiki, and years ago, before Mufasa was king, and even before his father was King, I was the griot for the Pridelands. Even now, I occasionally bring myself up to date on current events within the Pride…even if they are unofficial and unsolicited updates… "

Nala had never seen the baboon around Pride Rock and was starting to wonder how it could have been undetected. She then realized that she may have a one of a kind opportunity by being face to face with a living archive of the Pridelands.

"Rafiki," she ventured, "By any chance, would you know the reason why Scar was exiled?"

Rafiki's smile grew, "Well, Queen Nala…I don't normally divulge those kinds of stories, but I have been talking to myself so long it would be nice to practice the beautiful art of storytelling with a live audience."

_I'm sure it would_, thought Nala as she observed the demented primate bite at imaginary flies.

"Let's see….alright…when Simba was notified that he would be King, he and Scar….er….let's see, Taka, were young adolescents with only mid-formed manes on their crowns. They were a little bit younger than you. Anywa---,"

"'Taka?' " repeated Nala.

"Um….yes...'Taka' was Scar's birth-name….let's see…. Anyway, there was a third brother. His name was Kamari,….'moonlight'…yes…poor little Moonlight. But anyway, Mufasa and Taka were given a task to demonstrate their skills when it came to defending the Pridelands. There performance on the task would supposedly predict how they would lead the Pride when they became King. You see Nala, around this time, the hyenas from the Elephant graveyard were trying to expand their kingdom into the Pridelands and were starting a war with the Pride. On their side were the spotted hyenas, aardwolves, and African Wild dogs that inhabited those lands. On our side: the Lions and Lionesses of Pride Rock with the meerkats and mongooses as our messengers. On one day, we received the message that the hyenas planned on attacking us from north of the Watering Hole. Taka was given the task of forming a strategy to counter them. Without much planning, Taka ordered the lions to attack them head on. The result of this maneuver was the hyenas cutting off the group from behind and attacking them. Taka never changed the plan, even after losing so many lives. The strategy was the same: find out wherever the hyenas were supposed to be, attempt to predict where there weaknesses were, and then try to charge them head on.

'Taka was dismissed from his position. He had failed where Mufasa was expected to succeed. This time, instead of just relying on the word of the messengers, Mufasa investigated the meerkats and mongooses' ranks to find what he had suspected: there were double agents leading the lions to fall directly into the hyenas' trap. With the traitors out of the way, Mufasa led the Pride to victory with brilliant tactical skills. With a victory in his possesion, Mufasa was announced to be the next heir.

'Taka was very much dismayed at his failure. He even begged his father for another chance to redeem himself.

' "You are a fool!" thundered the King, "How dare you even have the gall to ask for such a favor. At this time, I would rather make young Kamari a king before you!"

'This angered Taka very much so considering that his brother Kamari was only a cub at the time and that it was no secret that Kamari and Mufasa were the most loved by the King and Queen. After being scolded by his father, Taka roared that he would make the King pay doubting Taka's abilities. The next day, the King and Queen went to the royal chamber to awake their sons. They found Taka walking into the chamber with his fur drenched with Kamari's blood. In the center of the cave, they found Kamari's body, cold and lifeless.'

Nala gulped. It made sense why Sarabi despised Scar. Infanticide, particularly within the royal family was considered to be a very serious crime. Cubs were highly valued for the sense of redemption they brought to their families.

'Taka pleaded with his parents that he woke up with the blood on his coat and that he would never harm his brother. The King and Queen were not convinced: they had known of his tendencies for quite some time. Out of anger, the King lashed out at Taka, marking the scar he would wear the rest of his days. Out of punishment, the King and Queen ordered that the rest of the Pride only acknowledge Taka by his mark---as a "Scar" on the Pride.

'Scar was exiled from Pride Rock. The only lion that ever continued to treat him civilly after the incident was his brother Mufasa. Scar was banished to the Elephant Graveyard where he was discovered by the hyenas. The hyenas accepted him as a member of their pack, and eventually, as their leader.

'According to the terms of the exile as established by the former King, Scar was ordered to never show himself onto the Pride's territory. Mufasa eventually lifted the heavy restrictions for his brother, but it was too late. The damage was done, and Scar became more antisocial as the years progressed.'

"So that is why his exile was to remain unspoken of," muttered Nala, "because he killed Kamari."

"Not so fast," snaped Rafiki, "If there's one thing I learned from being the Pride's griot, is that things are not always what they seem. Initially, Mufasa also believed that Scar was guilty of fratricide. But he remembered something very important about the motives of the hyenas for starting the war."

"What?" asked Nala. Her eyes grew wider as the story was elaborated on.

"They wanted more prey. There was more land and food in the Pridelands than in the Elephant Graveyard, which was most likely why they started the war in the first place.

"So what are you implying?"

"I'm saying that the hyenas had many spies on our side. They probably heard word of Scar's resentment for his brother and framed him for the murder. It is much easier to recruit a swift, hunting machine when he is desperate for acceptance."

Nala eyed the suspicious baboon skeptically, "I'm not sure if the hyenas are clever enough to formulate that plan."

"If the hyenas were clever enough to turn our informants against us, then they may have been clever enough to devise the plan to frame him."

"Whatever", mumbled Nala. The plan did seem plausible, but the important point was that she now knew Scar's secret. Hmm. Maybe she wanted to believe the story more than she indicated. Maybe Rafiki's theory of Scar being framed provided her with more relief than she thought. But why?

Nala left the clearing and called for Simba. If she was leaving today, then the least she could do was to let him know. Simba was no where to be found but she came across Timon and Pumbaa sleeping.

"Timon! Pumbaa! Where is Simba?"

The meerkat yawned and jabbed Pumbaa with his tail.

"Ahaaahhaa!" Rafiki's voice echoed from the trees, "I forgot to tell you all. He left!"

"Left???" asked Nala quizzically, "he…he actually went back home?"

" King has returned."


	6. Confession

Chapter 6: Confession

Sorry guys for the hiatus. I had summer homework and college stuff piling up. Along with updating my story, I managed to finally edit my profile page(Yay!)

Author's Note: I realized that in the last chapter when Rafiki was retelling Taka's story to Nala, I accidentally wrote "when Simba was notified that he would be King" instead of "when Mufasa was notified that he would be King." Just in case anyone noticed.

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Nala sprinted through the desert land at a speed she was unaware of possessing. She knew that if she wanted to make the right choice for her future, than it was imperative that she outruns Simba back to Pride Rock. Her discussion with Rafiki fueled her motivation.

_"So Rafiki," stammered Nala, "You say that you know about my status as the queen?"_

_The elderly baboon nodded, but suppressed his grin. The happy-go-lucky warthog and meerkat left the two beasts for a termite excursion a half hour ago._

_"Quite. Although, I understand why you would accept Scar to be your King considering what you previously thought had happened to Simba ,but I am puzzled as to why you would still consider him even after you reunited with Simba."_

_The beige lioness pointed her muzzle in the dirt sheepishly._

_"You don't know for sure if I'm accepting Scar as my mate."_

_Rafiki crept on his four paws closer to Nala. He lifted a bony finger and pointed at her left eye, and then her right._

_"It's in your eyes, Nala. Your sight is glazed over by Scar's influence."_

_Nala backed away from the wrinkly baboon and stared in confusion. _

_"I'm not sure that I understand what you are trying to say…."_

_"You know very well what I mean, Nala. Put your head towards the idea. When you and Simba were cubs, I watched over you. You had such innocent blue eyes then…'water eyes'. But the irises are clouded over. The cub's eyes told Simba that you wanted to play with him. That Simba could always know that his friend would love him. The lioness in front of me has the "telling eyes" too…but they have a message for Scar…."_

_Nala only stared at the baboon with even more perplexity. What could the strange beast be talking about?_

_The primate continued. His face hardened and formed into a frown. His lips curled in disgust._

"_These eyes…..contain lust….and desperation."_

_Nala backed away, her face contorted from denial._

_"No, that's not true….I don't love Scar, completely…I think...but I'm not desperate for him…."_

_Nala then remembered that Sarabi warned her against "succumbing to the feelings." But wasn't that why she gave herself to Scar? Because she wanted to submit to her feelings? _

_How should she feel? She was not even sure if she loved Scar or if her short-lived feelings meant nothing. What about his cruel punishment? Does she have sympathy towards him? Why should she sympathize with Scar because of his punishment? After all, he did betray Simba to take his throne._

"_So what shall it be?" asked Rafiki, "Do you have feelings for Simba or do you have feelings for Scar?"_

"_Why should I have to tell you?Why is it anyone else's business?"_

_Rafiki shrugged, "It's not so much for my benefit as it is for your own."  
_

_Nala bit her lip and stared at the ground. _

_"I don't know….I knew Simba when we were cubs until he abandoned us. And since I only remember him from when we were cubs, it seems that not much has changed in that respect."_

"_But he left to reclaim his throne," spoke up Rafiki in Simba's defense, "That has to mean something. There must be more going on with him than on the surface."  
_

"_I suppose….."_

"_Maybe you should give Simba a fair chance. How long have you known Scar?"_

"_Intimately?" Nala grudgingly counted, "About….two nights and a day…"_

_Nala's head dropped. She could see what Rafiki meant. _

"_Well what should I do, Rafiki? You seem to know a lot more things than I do."_

_Rafiki fled from Nala's presence and crawled up a nearby tree._

_"Don't look at Rafiki for answers! I may be wise about the Pridelands' history, but I do not know everything when it comes to matters of the heart. What do you think you should do?"_

_Nala sighed and forced her dizzying head to focus._

_"I guess, I should confront Scar before Simba does….that way I will know what he will say to me alone compared to when he is confronted by one of the lies he tried to hide from me. But how can I do that? Simba already left who-knows-how-many hours ago."_

_The baboon crawled down the tree and used his left finger to scribble something in the dirt._

_"What are you doing?" questioned Nala. She peered over his shoulder to find a blob with a rectangular space between it and the crude shape of what looked like Pride Rock. To the left of the Pride Rock was a long serpentine line from the blob._

_"There are many ways from the jungle to the Pridelands," mumbled Rafiki, "You and little Simba travelled this way." Rafiki pointed at the snake-shaped path. "This is a shortcut." Rafiki traced his finger along the rectangular path that was substantially shorter than the long one. "Simba used your scent to find his way back to the Pridelands, so his journey will take more time than yours.I would say the difference would be about a day more, but since he had a head-start, the time of arrival for both of you will probably be a few hours apart."_

_When Rafiki shifted his gaze to find Nala's muzzle, but instead he saw her running through the jungle away from the clearing._

_"Sorry I can't stay longer," she roared, "But thank you for helping me find my way!"_

_"For finding your way to the Pridelands or through love?" asked the monkey bemusedly ._

_"Both."_

Nala had finally found her way to Pride Rock. She panted as she crawled her way up the rock pedestals of the royal obelisk. Her optimistic mood faded once she opened her eyes to witness the starving lions and the corrupt, thieving hyenas. After spending only a small time in such a lush oasis, she was already shocked to return home. She darkly chuckled when she thought of the shock that Simba will eventually feel when he returns home after years of paradise. After the image of his depressed visage crept into her mind, she mentally chided herself for laughing at such a notion. How could she still be so bitter towards him?

Nala entered Scar's chambers to find him batting at a caged Zazu as if he were a pussycat playing with a toy. Through the bone bars,Zazu's eyes widened once he saw his liberator emerge through the entrance. Zazu urgently pointed two feathers in her direction in hopes of distracting Scar. The cruel lion looked over his shoulder and flickered his eyes in almost genuine glee.

"Well, Nala. It's nice to see you home again."

Scar glided over to Nala and rubbed his muzzle against hers in greeting. "I was beginning to wonder if you would ever come back…"

Scar's eyes traced over her body suspiciously.

_Her scent…..it smells different…familiar even. But the scent of something is masking it….the scent of some kind of fruit is covering the scent up….but what could it be?_

Scar continued to inhale the mysterious scent along her neck. What was it?

As Scar continued to smell her, Nala could not help but feel an intense rage rise through her body. She was about to confront him with his secret….but then….she realized that she should be more subtle about it. Instead of biting his throat, as she had originally planned, she instead cautiously permitted him to explore.

"What are you doing, my King?"

"You smell interesting, my dear Nala. It almost smells like…."

"Another lion?" Nala raised her eyelids.

Scar stopped sniffing and stared at her brilliant eyes.

"Well, yes. Actually it does."

"Any…..particular lion that comes to mind?"

Scar's stomach clenched. No….it could not possibly be him.

"No….is there something you would like to tell me?" His corrupted eyes became slitted and piercing.

"How funny, Scar….or rather….Taka."

Scar's claws extended. His muscles tensed at the mentioning of that vile name.

"Who told you?" he growled dangerously.

Nala ignored him. By now she was pacing around the room, her head was now staring at the cracks and holes in the ceiling as if they were extremely interesting.

"I don't think that matters. I'm more interested in why you seem so afraid. Me being with another lion? Why….that's unthinkable. I don't think you should worry about how I know about your secret. No…what really fascinates me is how…possessive you get. You are very funny when you are jealous. Although…I guess little "Moonlight" didn't find your jealousy so amusing when you killed him…poor little Kama-"

Before Nala could so much as glance at Scar to see what response he would elicit, she was struck to the floor. Since Scar had remembered just in time to conceal his claws, no scratches were left on her. That did not, however, make her skull feel any less bruised.

Scar stood over her limp body and pinned her down by clamping his heavy paw on her neck. Her vision swam from the combination of oxygen leaving her body and her head being viciously struck.

"Listen to my words and listen well, Nala." Scar then whispered into her ear perfectly enunciating each syllable.

"_I_…did…_not_….kill…._Kamari._ That bastard hyena king did. Once I found out, that he framed me, I killed him with these very claws. And for what? To be the leader of a pack of mangy imbeciles when my own family alienated me? Despised me! Cursed me as a damned murderer of cubs? Oh, I couldn't have that, now could I? I wanted to take everything that rightfully belonged to me: Pride Rock….and an heir….and of course that's where you come in…..yes….you, my beautiful mate."

Nala was clinging on to the remaining air around her. She gasped and sputtered.

"Please….let me….. breathe…….."

"Maybe I will if you tell me who the other male was?" Scar lessened the pressure on her neck. He needed to know once and for all where Simba resided so that he could kill him himself if the time ever came.

"Please….let go," she pleaded, "I promise ……to tell you if you let go. Besides…..I might be pregnant. You don't want to kill your unborn heir…do you?"

Scar's eyes widened at the possibility that she might be bearing his child at the moment,

"_Are_ you pregnant?"

"I….don't know….but I might be."

Scar took the pressure off of her neck but flipped her over so that her back was facing him. He now had control over her forelegs instead of her fragile neck. Nala was close to crying. How could she have been so stupid to trust this monster? How could she have been so cruel to Simba when he only wanted to love her in the way she deserved to be?

"He was another lie that you kept from me," tears trickled down her square muzzle, "He was….my beloved Simba."

Scar leapt off of her back and snarled in disgust. "Leave my sight. I have no desire to see you for the rest of the night."

Nala gladly walked to the opening of the cave.

"Oh Nala."

The weeping lioness haulted in her footsteps to hear what the maned devil had to say.

"I too have a confession….I mean…since we are being honest and all… Zira was my illegitimate mate before I even selected you. Her son, Nuka, was the result of it….but I convinced her to persuade the pride that Anaan was the father because of the cub's cowardice: I could not have a coward as a King. Anaan was a good match too…he looks just like Nuka. But to be fair, I did not use her while I was with you…I only persuaded Anaan to father their next cub. A cub that I predict will be the best heir of all even though he is no blood relation to me. It was just a plan B in case our offspring would not be how I envisioned it to be."

Nala whipped through the entrance and left the mad king to laugh at her despair. At that moment, not much mattered to the weeping queen. On her way down the steps, she saw Zira and Anaan walking the steps. Nala saw that she was followed by her cub, Nuka.

"Good afternoon, Queen Nala," jealousy poisoned Zira's words, "What message from King Scar does our Queen bless her Pride with?"

Nala spat in Zira's face and left the Pridelands.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Long Live the Queen

Argh! Another hiatus. It's times like this when I wonder about the benefits of the IB Programme (if you don't know what the International Baccalaureate is, google it…it's too complicated to explain here). Also, the night that I decided to finish the entire story was the 18 hours where document manager decided to stop working (just my luck :p)

Anyway, this is the last chapter and I would like to thank the many readers who gave me reviews for the work. This was my first fanfiction and although I never explicitly requested feedback, I appreciated it deeply.

Note: I mentioned this on my profile but I forgot to include it in chapters 5 or 6.

-"Kamari": a character of my invention. According to an online baby name book, "Kamari" is Swahili for "moonlight". It can be used as a name for boys or girls. It is a shorter variation of the name "Kamaria".

-"Anaan": another character of my own….sort of….Kovu's birth-father is not introduced in the Lion King 2, so I took liberties with the character. The name is a combination of the African folkhero "Anansi" and the character/word "Canaan". I had put the two names together because I thought it would sound interesting.

Note: This is a significantly longer chapter _than most of my others. _

_Note: Just as I don't own the Lion King or Disney, I also do not own the rights to "Change (In the House of Flies)" by the Deftones._

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_I took you home_

_Set you on the glass_

_I pulled off your wings_

_Then I laughed_

_I watched a change in you_

_Seems like you never had wings_

_--Change (In the House of Flies),_ Deftones

Nala peered over her shoulder as she ran. The angles of the massive Pride Rock seemed to pierce the dark, overcast sky. As the storm clouds moved in, Nala wondered if it were just her imagination or if the clouds were drawing closer to the conniving monarch's lair, like iron filings being attracted to a magnet by an unseen force.

The salty tears burned her lips.

_He was so evil. So vile….how could I have been so foolish? How could I…agree to such a thing? His mate? No…I was his tool. I knew how manipulative he was, but I became his queen nevertheless. I tried to convince myself that it did not matter how calculating he was, just as long as he would love me. Sarabi was right; I only stayed with him out of selfishness. It wasn't for the sake of the Pride! If I weren't so desperate for companionship, then I wouldn't have agreed to be with him. No, even if the Pride asked me directly, even if they told me explicitly that they would rather me be his mate than for them to remain hungry for not eating that pathetic gazelle, I would have told them all to go to hell._

Nala squinted her eyes to make out the silhouette of a lion on the hill before her. Realizing the lion to be Simba, Nala bit her tongue and forced herself to enliven. When his face met hers Nala smiled and ran up the hill to join him.

_At least now I know to never make that mistake again._

Simba nuzzled the lioness' neck but returned his worried gaze to the troubling site before him. Nala could sense his heart breaking when he counted the decomposing skeletons of cubs that could not survive through the scarcity of food. The skeletons were disposed of on the hill mainly to prevent the mothers from seeing the bodies of their children desecrated by the hyenas—not that it stopped the hyenas from enjoying the carcasses, for that matter—Simba then remembered his mother and how back when Mufasa was king, she would ensure that _all_ cubs had enough to eat, not just Simba. Simba restrained a sob from rising through his throat once he thought of the horrific circumstances that could have forced his mother to break such a pledge.

"How could I have let this happen?" cried Simba, "I was so irresponsible to leave my family….I was supposed to be their protector."

"You were just a cub, Simba," consoled Nala, "You couldn't have known that this would happen."

"But even when I was old enough to return…I didn't. I stayed in the jungle…I kept trying to convince myself that I was unneeded…that I didn't need to live with responsibilities. I was so ignorant, but the worst part was that I actually _kept _myself oblivious to the Pride's problems…I simply just didn't want to know."

Simba sighed as his gaze fell to the dry soil below him.

"It's funny, you know. When you're a cub, you think life is so frustrating because you aren't old enough to do a lot of grownup things. But then, I did get older and I didn't like the responsibilities that came with it, so I tried to stay a child by forgetting about things that had to be done. I didn't know how good I had it as a cub…as a prince…as a son of a father who loved me. I wanted to relive those feelings of being a cub again. I was so selfish…so indulgent…"

Nala swallowed a lump in her throat, _I too am guilty of that_, she inwardly confessed.

Nala stepped in front of the long-lost prince to face him. It may have been Simba's imagination, but much to Simba's relief, Nala's eyes seemed different from when he last saw them. They seemed clear and resolute. No longer was Nala's soul preoccupied by another.

"We can make this right, Simba. I know we….I know… you can."

A smile returned to Simba's golden face. "What do you mean by "you"? I'm sure that I have enough room for my queen to help me."

Nala hesitated at first, but took a step forward and licked his cheek.

"And your Queen thinks that it is time that we stopped talking and free our Pride."

****

Nala laid on the ground with pools of blood dripping down her muzzle. She was not badly injured. Curiously enough, she was more tired than hurt from the scratches inflicted on her. While groaning, she turned her head to witness the fighting around her. After being viciously struck by Scar, Sarabi had been hurried to a safe haven away from Pride Rock. Timon and Pumbaa were in a corner kicking and scratching hyenas and Rafiki had just pummeled three male hyenas until they were either dead or unconscious. She grunted as she lifted her bloody, aching body. She needed to find Scar before he told Simba of their secret. Her claws extended as she thought of crushing the air out of his windpipe just as he tried with her six hours before.

Nala trotted to the edge of Pride Rock where Simba was looking over the edge. As she headed over to where Simba was standing, she observed her surroundings. Ember's flicked around her paws as she approached the edge of the cliff. Heat emanated from the drop as flames snaked up to the edge. Nala's muzzle twitched as she smelt the smoke . Below the cliff, she could see Scar's body being attacked by his former hyena underlings. As hyenas scratched at Scar's flesh, the fire around him crept closer towards the center. Even if one threat was evaded, the other would inevitably be his downfall.

"He is in his own Hell right now," commented Simba morbidly, "His lies finally caught up to him. He told me his secret, you know."

A weight dropped in Nala's stomach. The breath left her lungs as her mouth gaped. Simba was not facing her; he was still staring at the pit below.

"As it turned out, Scar killed my father. He planned the whole stampede. I…had nothing to do with it. All of these years, the guilt kept haunting me. The guilt was unbearable."

Nala breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's not worry about him anymore," suggested Nala," Let's focus on rebuilding PrideRock."

****

Nala drowsed in a thicket of grasses. It had been many nights since she had slept for more than two hours at a time. Ever since Simba became king, her life was still tumultuous and stressful despite her attempts at bringing the Pridelands back to normal. And the worst part was that Simba could not even know what fretted her, let alone help her with her mounting stress.

It started many days ago when she noticed that she started to feel sick for days at a time. At first, Nala simply thought that it was a virus…until her belly started to grow. It did not take long before Nala realized what was happening and she found herself weighing her options.

She could try to explain to Simba the agreement between her and Scar. Even if Simba still loved her despite her relationship with Scar, she knew that it would be impossible for Simba to love the cub of his treacherous uncle and raise it as his own. The second option was the obvious one: to mate with Simba and convince him that the infant was his. Nala loathed herself for conceiving such a notion. She did not want to have to live with a manifestation of her mistake especially if the knowledge of the cub's birth-father would prevent her from giving it her complete and unconditional love. Also, even if she did manage to put her guilt aside and raise the child, she thought that it would be too risky. Surely Simba would think that it would be too soon for her to be pregnant with his child considering the difference between the day that they mated and the time that she gave birth. Nala could not give her child to one of the lionesses in her pride because, again, she would be living with the child within her sight. Also, it was too much of a favor to ask of her followers. Many of them already had cubs and the ones they had were enough mischief by themselves. Unless of course…_her_….there was one lioness who would be more than happy to accept another cub.

Nala sighed. She had been residing in the thicket for about a week. She convinced Simba to leave her alone, saying that she felt sick and did not want him to catch it. Only Rafiki was permitted to accompany her.

The wise baboon walked up to Nala with a cub cradled in his arms.

"She is finally asleep, your highness. It took awhile but after playing with the rattle of my staff, she finally tired herself out."

Nala picked up the cub by the scruff of its neck and settled it in between her front paws. Nala looked over the cub's features once more. It was female and had the same beige fur as Nala. She had a small tuft of fur on her head, similar to bangs, and she had dark circles under her eyes. Nala was always puzzled by the circles. She made sure that the cub would be put to bed early every night, but the cub always had them. Nala would always marvel at the markings, but then a chill went up her spine when she remembered a time when the cub was supposed to be sleeping, but was instead staring with eyes wide open at the darkness. Nala wondered if the cub did this every night, which would explain the circles. Nala would coo and try to put the cub to sleep, but the young female would keep staring. Then the child would bat at some invisible prey in the air and then fall asleep.

Nala remembered that strange mannerism from someone, but who? Rafiki would do it every once in a while, but he was quite elderly so it was not very concerning. But then Nala remembered that when she dwelled with Scar that brief period of time, he would occasionally bat his paw at invisible enemies and talk to things that she could not see. She also remembered when she confronted him that day when Zazu was caged. Even then, Scar was entranced by his plaything….so entranced that when Nala appeared, he seemed as if he was breaking out of a dream…all the while forgetting completely about the little bird he was having so much fun with only moments before. Nala shuddered at the thought of her daughter inheriting the same madness that Scar had.

Nala sighed as she breathed on her cub. She remembered that when she was born, there was another option of how to deal with this cub but Nala could not carry it through. She could not kill the young child, even though she hated the guilt it gave her upon its sight, she still had a connection to the child. Besides she had a feeling that even if Simba learned of the cub's existence, he still would not approve of her killing it despite the fact that he would not want to raise it either.

"Rafiki," whispered Nala, "I need you to do me a favor."

***

Young Nuka stomped his paw on a small anthill. He licked his paws of the ants and stomped his paw on the anthill two more times….than three more times…and four more times….

"Nuka!" hissed Zira. Nuka jumped at her outburst. "You already killed the ants the first time. Why do you have to do it again?"

Nuka cowered and began to cry. Despite her complaint, he continued to clamp his paw down on the anthill while crying. Also, much to Zira's disgust, Nuka began to urinate.

"What are you doing?" screamed Zira, "Have you no self-control?"

"I…I don't know, mommy," Nuka cried, "I don't know what's wrong with me."

Zira walked over to the cub and comforted him with soft coos. His anxiety problems were one thing, but his "repetitions" were becoming another annoyance.

Anaan reclined in the shade of a baobab tree with another cub by his side. "What in the world is wrong with him? Whatever it is…he sure didn't get it from me."

Zira scowled at her mate while patting Nuka's head. _You have no idea how right you are, Anaan._

"Zira, come here and nurse Kovu. He will need to be sated before we can begin our exodus with the others."

Zira nodded. Zira's family as well as the other followers of Scar were ordered to leave the Pridelands as retribution for betraying Mufasa's bloodline. Nala had originally pleaded with Simba to change the sentence since she knew of how exile negatively affected Scar. But the penalty could not be changed: it was tradition that offending lions be banished as punishment for treason.

Zira sighed as Kovu began feeding. Her stomach felt heavy when she thought of how Kovu's sister would be laying next to him if she had not been stillborn. But at least Kovu survived that litter. Zira was already deeply pitied by the rest of the lionesses—exiled and not exiled—for having to suffer the heartbreak of losing a daughter. The pity would have been much worse if she had lost both of them.

"Despite all of his problems, Nuka looks just like me, doesn't he Zira?"

Zira nodded unenthusiastically. Anaan was not aware of the fact that Nuka was Scar's birthson, nor was Anaan aware that he was chosen by Scar to produce Kovu—Scar's heir. And Zira would rather that Anaan remained oblivious to the truth of her philandering ways until her sons were big enough to protect her from Anaan's revenge once he discovered the truth.

Zira's ears perked up when she heard a rustle in the grass.

"What beast approaches us?" barked Anaan gravely, "Show yourself!"

An old, wiry baboon shuffled through the grass bearing a toothy grin and a sleeping lion cub in his arms. The cub did not looked much older than Zura's dear Kovu. He smiled as he set the cub down next to Zira.

Zira's mouth fell at the boldness of the senile monkey.

"How dare you?!"

The monkey clapped his hands and ran on all fours through the grass quicker than a flick of Zira's tail.

"The cub is a child of Scar's. Her mother cannot care for her and I am not permitted to reveal her identity. But would you be so kind as to raise her as your own?"

Zira sniffed the cub and pondered the request.

_A child of Scar's…and she is a female….she almost looks like me, too._

"We will take her…won't we Anaan?"

The lion stared at Zira in disbelief. His dark brown coat bristled, but then relaxed.

"I…I suppose. If you really want her, than you can have her. But I will have nothing to do with her. I will not raise a cub that is not my own."

Zira smiled as she laughed inwardly at the irony. But she quickly stopped chuckling to meet his gaze. She remembered that this was a normal response for male lions. Nala dropped her head to begin bathing the small cub.

"I will name her 'Vitani'. My little 'goddess of war.' "

In the thickest part of the grass where Rafiki disappeared to crouched Nala.

_Goodbye, Vitani._

With the flick of a tail, Nala swiftly left the lioness and her three cubs below the baobab tree.

-----*------*------*-----*----

Epilogue:

Nala could not believe the lioness in front of her. It was raining and Kiara and Kovu had just recently declared their love to each other a moment ago. The exiled lions and their descendants approached the Pridelands' lions, eager to reconcile their differences and to put an end to the war between the factions.

The lions embraced each other and whispered the meanings of family and love. Simba embraced Kovu and called him "son". Kiara and Vitani embraced and called each other "sisters".

Now it was Nala's turn. She eyed the young lioness she could not watch grow into adulthood. She remembered hearing stories about this _Vitani_. "Fire-lover", "sadist", and "conspirator", came to mind. But the only true word that had meaning to Nala escaped her lips.

"My daughter. Dear Vitani."

Vitani was puzzled at first at the remark, but remembered that the other lions were exchanging the same kinds of terms of endearment.

"Um….yes…mother."

Nala smiled. Vitani thought that it was only rain in the queen's eyes, but that was only because she could not feel the taste of the salt that burned Nala's lips. Vitani smiled back. This lioness before her, this queen, seemed so familiar and comforting despite them having never met before. But how could a stranger be so loving towards her? Vitani looked around her to see lions of different kin embracing and calling each other family.

Vitani moved closer to Nala and laid her head on her shoulder while Nala cried. Maybe blood should not matter when it comes to love?

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Author:

Well, that was the twist! My interpretation of the Lion King story. I thought that giving Nuka and Vitani slight mental illnesses would be interesting considering they are Scar's children (supposedly it is implied that they are in the movie, but that Kovu is their half-brother). Besides, in Lion King 2, it was kind of implied that Nuka and Vitani were pyromaniacs at best (and of course that Nuka was a coward).

Well, as written in my profile, I got the idea for the story while in IB Biology class. I was googling lyrics to stalker songs to freak out a friend when I stumbled upon lyrics to "The Madness of Scar". The lyrics were so disturbing (and humorous). It was when Disney channel aired an animated rendition of the song that the cogs started turning…

In case readers haven't noticed, I tried to write the story to be as plausible as possible when compared to the movie.

Well, thanks readers! This was a good first fanfic experience and I look forward to writing my next one (it will probably either be my "Coraline" one or my "Animorphs" one). Who knows? Maybe someday I will write a sequel!


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